


kiss from a rose

by justasuperfan



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Crime Fighting, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Aang/Katara, Protective Sokka (Avatar), Self-Harm, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, anyways how u guys doing, sorry about that, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:40:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26335036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justasuperfan/pseuds/justasuperfan
Summary: sokka has lived the last few years of his life with flower tattoos covering half his face. once he meets prince zuko and discovers they’re soulmates, everything gets infinitely harder.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Sokka & Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko
Comments: 20
Kudos: 304





	1. a light hits the gloom

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! Sorry it’s been a while, I probs won’t post as often as before bc of school and such. I got a new beta btw, @she-ras-sister on tumblr! Thanks so much for editing this fic. Idea from @mists_of_avalon’s prompt list.
> 
> first chapter is more of an introduction to the concept, action comes in next few chapters 
> 
> TW for the entire work: self harm, references child abuse

Sokka wasn’t an idiot. Well, he was sometimes, but there’s different context in those situations. The thing is, he knew a soulmark when he saw one. The flowers and vines that decorated the skin around his left eye weren’t hard to miss. And since he hadn’t seen Zuko until the raid, he knew immediately that the fire prince was his soulmate. And that _sucked._

Everyone knew. Everyone knew that Sokka would be a traitor to his own tribe, his own family, ever since the day the banished prince showed up. He had always felt so bad for his soulmate, until he realized who it was. So he would have to be with Zuko every day, always knowing how much of a horrible person the boy was. It wasn’t fair! Why couldn’t he just be like Katara, who only had one flower tattoo on her back? Or like Aang, who only had ones on his hands? He just wanted a normal soulmate. But of course the universe hated him.

That is, until Zuko miraculously showed up at the air temple.

Sokka could understand why Zuko didn’t immediately recognize his soulmate. He wasn’t exactly focused on Sokka’s face all the time, and Sokka always tended to stay away from the prince anyways. But they should’ve seen each other enough by then for him to know...right? Wrong. Zuko caught a glimpse of Sokka’s face and stumbled backwards with a gasp. Sokka noticed the prince’s fingers, covered in tiny vines and flowers from the times he’d cut his hands while fishing or from his boomerang. He hadn’t noticed those before. 

“You...I…” Zuko tried, but faltered. 

“Yeah, I hate it too.” Sokka crossed his arms. He wanted to hate the guy, but...maybe that shouldn’t be his goal. The universe knew what was best for them after all, and if Zuko wanted to join them, maybe it really didn’t hate him.

“I don’t hate it.” Zuko whispered, almost astounded. Sokka’s eyes went wide. Zuko liked him? Did the guy even want a male soulmate, or was he just saying that to make Sokka feel better?

“Oh. Well, um…”

Toph snickered. Sokka gave her a glare, but that obviously didn’t stop her from laughing. “You two are hopeless. Look, you have to be soulmates somehow, right? So I think this is your chance to do it. Stop being idiots.”

“Toph’s right. We kind of have to let Zuko onto the team, don’t we?” Aang gave his signature quirked smile to Sokka and nodded. The water tribe boy smiled back.

“Alright, then. Welcome to the team.

Soulmate.”

…

Sokka remembered when he had gotten sick, and Aang had rescued him with a remedy from an old herbalist. Which was disgusting, by the way. But after he and Katara had recovered, they went back to the old woman so she could answer some questions about their scars.

They’d heard legends of different types of flower marks meaning different things, and Sokka wanted to find out exactly how Zuko had gotten the scar that had haunted the both of them for years.

The second they walked inside the greenhouse, the old woman smiled wide. “Ah, welcome back! You’ve brought a flowery friend, I see.”

Before they could even ask about the scars, she grabbed Sokka’s chin and began inspecting his face. Katara yelped behind him, and Aang tried to push her away, but Sokka assured them it was fine. “Um, hey?” He tried. The woman laughed.

“Oh, dear! You’ve got raspberry blossoms. That means regret. I wanna meet that soulmate.”

He noticed a large yellow flower on her neck. 

“What’s that mean?”

“Fragility. My soulmate was a wimp.”

He didn’t remember much from that exchange, on account of still being loopy and recovering. But he remembered the herbalist telling Katara as many flower types as she could rattle off before they backed out of the room. He remembered his sister writing down a few on the leaves she’d brought up for that very reason. 

So the fire prince had regretted something that caused him to get his scar. He’d have to ask if they ever fought him again.

...

It wasn’t easy. 

Zuko was still hurt, angry, and depressed. He’d made tons of wrong decisions in his life and didn’t know how to stop making them. But Sokka could tell he was tired of running and fighting, tired of being the bad guy. Despite how many times Zuko yelled at them for no reason, Sokka knew his soulmate had good intentions. Being raised by the Fire Lord couldn’t have been easy. Being told that wrong was right your whole life messed with your head. Maybe that was why Azula was so crazy.

And Sokka noticed the nightmares. Everyone had them, of course, but probably not as bad. He heard Zuko’s screams from all the way on the other side of the temple, and he knew the guy was embarrassed by them. He wanted to try and comfort him, but it was hard. Looking the enemy in the eye and calling him a soulmate wasn’t easy. As much as he was willing to make an effort, he couldn’t help but wish he’d had a soulmate like Yue or Suki. Or even Haru. Heck, Jet was pretty attractive. But he didn’t have those options, and he had to accept that.

Then it became time to rescue his dad from prison, and Zuko was the only person he knew he could take. Not only because he knew the prison and its layout, or he could work the war balloon. They needed to bond if they would ever be able to live up to the universe’s expectations of them.

So, high above the valleys, wind whistling in his ears, Sokka sighed. “So. We’re soulmates I guess.”

“Yep.”

Sokka groaned internally. Zuko could at least try to make an effort! “...Does anyone else know? Other than the obvious.”

He sighed. “Not that I know of, no.”

“Does Azula have a soulmate?”

Silence. Then, “No.”

It was too awkward to try and spark up conversation again, so they sat in silence. It was cold, which was a comfort to the water tribe boy. It reminded him of his home. Before he had to worry about the Avatar and battles and soulmates. Back when he was just a water tribe peasant. At least in the other nations’ eyes.

“I’m sorry. I don’t...I...I can’t exactly…Oh, forget it.” Zuko grumbled as he shot another fireball into the furnace. The war balloon lifted higher. He must’ve added too much.

“You can’t what?” Sokka curled against the side of the basket. Okay, maybe it was too cold. He’d gotten used to the tropical islands and warm Earth Kingdom territories.

“I can’t do _anything!_ I can’t even talk to my goddamn soulmate. I can’t do feelings and I’m gonna have to if this is gonna work!”

“To be honest, I’m not too good at feelings either. But being with Katara and Aang has really taught me how to open up more.” He felt his hand move up to the flowers surrounding his eye. “I know you’ve had it bad, Zuko. I don’t expect you to get used to this life so quickly. No one does.”

“But I should be! I’m supposed to be good!”

Man, this guy was frustrating. “If it makes you so uncomfortable, maybe we weren’t meant to be soulmates.” Okay, that came out wrong. “Uh, I mean, maybe it’s like friendly soulmates. What’s the word?”

“Platonic.”

“Right, that. Maybe we’re plate toxic soulmates.”

Zuko cracked a smile at Sokka’s butchering of the word before muttering something Sokka couldn’t hear, and never got a chance to ask about. “I’m sorry about…” He gestured to his face.

“What, the scar or your ugliness?”

“Shut _up._ ”

They began trading stories of their adventures. Zuko told him more about the dragons, Azula, and his mom. She sounded really nice. Sokka told him about his own mom, his travels, and how he’d grown to trust the prince. Then he had to ask some of his own questions.

“Did you notice when you attacked my village?”

He stopped feeding the flames for a minute, and his shoulders drooped. “I wish I had. We could’ve avoided all of this.”

Sokka felt a smile cover his face. So Zuko hadn’t hated him, like he’d originally thought. When he had first seen the scar, Sokka had wondered if Zuko knew but just chose to fight him all that time anyways. “I mean, it’s a pretty big area. How did you not see?”

“I kinda wasn’t focused on you. Plus, you had makeup on—”

“ _Warrior paint!_ ”

“And you were knocked into the snow within seconds. Not to mention, I—” He froze. “Never mind.”

“No, what is it?”

He sighed. “I’m half-blind. And half-deaf. Because of…” He gestured again to his face.

Sokka slumped. He hadn’t expected his soulmate’s scar to still be affecting him. Even if it was hard to trust the prince, he had to feel bad for him. They were always meant to be together, and maybe this was the only chance he would have to bond with him. “I’m sorry. That’s rough, buddy.”

Then, despite the fact that they were flying into a death trap, both of them laughed forever.

…

The war was over. The Fire Lord had his bending taken away, and Sokka, Suki, and Toph were safe. It was going to be okay. Everyone would be okay.

Yeah, no, the universe really did hate him.

“Sokka…” Suki breathed, staring at his face in disbelief.

“I know, I’m handsome, right?” He joked, but then saw the look in her eyes. She was...terrified. “Oh. Oh shit. What happened?”

“What’s going on?” Toph asked. Her voice sounded like a little girl’s, as if she was finally letting down her walls.

“Oh no.” Aang said from his other side.

“What?!” Sokka grabbed for his face, searching for blood or scars. There was nothing. Which meant… “It’s Zuko. Isn’t it.”

Suki nodded and pursed her lips. “Your mark...it’s fading.”

Sokka had lived the three years he had that mark wishing it would go away. Sure, the flowers were pretty, but he hated that half of his face was branded with whatever his soulmate had done. But now that it was fading, he felt panic claw its way up his throat. A few months ago, he would’ve been happy. But a mark fading meant your soulmate was dying. And whether Zuko just wanted to be good friends or not, he wasn’t going to let him die.

“We need to get to them. Now.”

“But how?” Aang asked, still looking like he was about to collapse. He had just been through a lot. “All the airships are broken.”

Toph’s face suddenly lit up. “Hey, Twinkletoes. Still have that bison whistle?”

Genius.

Aang blew on the whistle as hard as he could, and they heard the bellowing of the flying bison moments later. They didn’t speak as the four of them clambered onto Appa’s back, Toph dragging the former Fire Lord with her. Ozai would definitely be tortured by Toph’s remarks the whole way there. But all Sokka could bring himself to care about was how his soulmate was dying somewhere. And he would not let that mark fade from his face.

The wind tore through his hair as the bison began flying quickly towards the palace. “Suki, is it gone yet?”

“No. But it’s really faded.” He felt a hand on his shoulder as he searched the ground. He knew he shouldn’t have sent them to Azula. They should’ve gotten backup or something! 

“Aang, how are your marks?” Sokka called toward the front. His voice wavered way more than he wanted it to. 

“Still there, thank the spirits!” The Avatar called back. So at least his sister would definitely make it out alive. That calmed him down a bit.

Finally, they reached the palace. Suki smiled at Sokka and squeezed his hand. “It’s back. He’s going to be okay.”

Sokka let out a long-awaited breath and searched the ground as they landed. Zuko and Katara had limped over to meet them. The water tribe boy couldn’t help but notice his soulmate’s torn-open shirt, the new bright red scar he sported, and how he leaned on Katara heavily. Suki helped Sokka down from the bison, and he immediately limped toward the pair. 

“I was so scared, Zuko! Don’t do that to me!”

“Oh? You were scared, were you?” Katara raised an eyebrow at him and smirked.

“Oh, shut up.”

“I’m okay. Azula shot me with her lightning, but she’s defenseless now.” The prince’s gaze drifted toward where his sister screamed and rolled on the ground. “We’ll send her to prison with my father.”

Before anyone could say anything else, Sokka threw his arms around Zuko. The boy winced, but after getting over his initial shock, hugged him back. “Maybe I don’t want to be just plate toxic soulmates.” Sokka whispered. He felt Zuko put a hand in his hair. As everyone reunited, Sokka pulled away from the prince and smiled at his copper eyes.

“Yeah. I don’t want to either.”

Then, still grabbing Sokka’s neck, Zuko kissed him.

Sokka found that he enjoyed it. A lot. The prince was warm, and his kiss was passionate, albeit nervous. He could tell Zuko wasn’t keen on touching people. But if he was willing to kiss someone, things must have changed. Anyways, enough thinking. Sokka kissed back until the sun sank over the horizon and he knew everyone would be okay. They had each other, and that was enough. 

The next day, he discovered a ring of flowers and vines around his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, i MAY have forgotten that sokka, suki, toph, and aang were like a days journey away from zuko and katara...just forget about that little detail, ‘kay?


	2. my power, my pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> zuko works out some issues after his friends leave. but as it turns out, he isn’t alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, back at it again with the fan fiction. Another huge thanks to @she-ras-sister for being the beta for this story! The chapters after this one might feel a little out of character and strange, but it manages to tie together in the end. I hope.
> 
> TW: SELF HARM, self-hatred
> 
> I am also tackling some pretty difficult topic in the next few chapters, plz stay safe everyone! this chapter is very heavy on the TWs, but the next one is not and all you need to know before skipping to that one (if you need to) is that Sokka and Zuko went shopping for swords in the city.

Zuko's father was dead. His sister was locked up. He was the Fire Lord, and he was going to find his long lost mother. And, maybe best of all, he found out who the vines on his hands and abdomen belonged to. 

It was quiet. Quieter than it had been in a while. And Zuko was finally at peace. He had friends, a life, and a home, which was more than he’d had in a while. His newest scar still hurt, but at least he had people to take the pain away and a soulmate to have the same mark. He felt bad about that, but at least this one wouldn’t be as visible. 

But something was still off. The second Sokka and Katara went back to their own tribe, promising to come back for good, everything crashed down. Without Katara’s healing, Sokka’s stupid jokes and kisses, and Toph’s bullying, he felt alone again. Zuko felt himself spiraling, even as he talked to Aang every day and went to frequent meetings. All the letters in the world couldn’t take away the loneliness that settled on his shoulders again. So he reverted back to his old ways and pressed a finger down hard on his wrist.

His fingernail made a thin line, a burning one. Fire shot through his fingers and into his veins. He gritted his teeth, but it helped. It helped him ground himself, punish himself for losing the only people who’d ever cared about him. They had said they were coming back. But the people he loved had lied too many times. His mom about coming back, his sister about caring for him, his ‘friends’ about liking when he was around. What if his new friends were just lies, like everything else in his life?

That’s when Sokka appeared at his front door.

…

“Sokka.” Zuko stared with his mouth slightly open as his soulmate stepped through the door.

The boy crossed his arms over his chest. “Ah, sir hotman. Welcome to the intervention.”

Before the Fire Lord could blink, he was being pulled along by his covered wrists. Sokka marched him out the door to his room and down the halls, alerting the guards at their posts. Zuko waved them off discreetly as they began awkwardly jogging through the palace. “Where are we going?!”

“Shopping.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I want to talk to you.”

Okay, that was suspicious. Why would he—

Oh. Yeah, Zuko was stupid.

Of course the marks would leave scars. And of course Sokka would see them. And _of course_ he would be concerned for his boyfriend. Well, were they dating? He hadn’t made it very clear. They’d kissed like twice, but did that mean they were together. And what would the Fire Nation say anyways? Did Sokka even like him like that, or was it a heat of the moment kind of thing? But why else would the boy be concerned about the newly forming scars? But—

 _Stop it, Zuko. Remember what Uncle said._ What _had_ Uncle said, anyways? He did have a tendency to overthink the smallest things and underthink the major details. 

Whatever. He needed to focus. He had to come up with an excuse for growing collection of flowers on his soulmate’s wrists. Katara had said something about knowing which flower types meant what, so maybe Sokka knew what his intention for the scars were. But that didn’t explain why they were going shopping in the Fire Nation, a place the water tribe boy had been warned about his entire life. Was he really warming up to Zuko’s home so quickly?

“Hey, Sokka?” His throat was so dry.

“Shh. No talky until we get there.”

Zuko groaned. He and his soulmate made it into the sun outside the palace, both of them blinking against the bright sun. They’d have to get more windows in the palace. Sokka dragged him to the stables, where a certain flying bison was waiting. His wrists began to burn where his soulmate’s grip was too tight.

He didn’t mean to smile when he saw Appa, but he’d missed the bison as well. Humans weren’t his only friends. They piled on the saddle after Sokka opened up the large door. “Appa, yip yip!”

The creature took off into the sky until Zuko’s home became little bigger than a figure on a map. 

It wasn’t fair to the market, but it felt like forever. He was itching to ask the questions building in his chest, and he was getting more and more anxious every minute that passed without his soulmate confronting him. He had to do it at some point, so why not just get it over with?! It made a pressure in his chest that was becoming all too familiar. 

They finally landed to the sound of a few surprised yelps. It was probably strange to see an extinct creature landing in the middle of your street, carrying the Fire Lord and his enemy. The pair climbed off Appa and ignored the forming crowds. Maybe Sokka was going to confront him in front of all his citizens, which would be the worst thing ever. Zuko could already feel his face heating up as he squeezed through the gaps and followed a bobbing ponytail and blue outfit. 

People shouted their names, while others jeered. They’d probably bought Ozai’s propaganda, and weren’t happy about his imprisonment. Zuko had been expecting that, but he hadn’t expected to leave the palace so early. The sooner they found a quiet area to talk, the better.

Finally, guards posted around the market helped the mob dissipate, and Sokka led Zuko to a stand covered in shiny swords. Was he actually just there to shop? Well, the Fire Lord didn’t mind. His old dao blades had been damaged anyways. “So...why are we here?” Zuko muttered as the shopkeeper turned around and caught sight of them.

“I told you already, hotman.”

Zuko groaned. Not Sokka too! Aang’s hundred-year-old slang was bad enough coming from a child’s mouth, but now his soulmate’s?

The shopkeeper gasped. “Fire Lord Zuko! Warrior Sokka!” He bowed, and Zuko bowed back. Sokka smiled and said something along the lines of ‘I like this guy.’ “What can I offer you today? Everything is half-priced.”

“Actually, I was wondering if we could use your training room again. To practice.” Sokka winked at the man, and a sense of realization came over his face. Zuko gulped.

“Right this way! Take any swords you want to practice with and test them out.” 

A glint of silver attracted Zuko’s eye, and he grabbed a pair of swords that looked almost exactly like his old ones, but with a red dragon pattern reaching up the blade. He smiled and followed the man back to the training room. A trickle of sweat dripped from his forehead. Even with the small comfort of the swords, he was still nervous.

The second the man left and closed the door behind him, Sokka began slicing through the air with the sword. Zuko admired the room and the weapons on the walls. Kamas, sais, tonfas...he could use some of those. Though he preferred swords and firebending over anything else. 

“So, I guess you want to talk about…”

“Katara said the newest flowers were Monkshood. Kind of weird-looking, if you ask me.”

“You’re weird-looking.” 

Sokka glared. “It means hatred, Zuko. Do you…” He gulped and glanced at the ground, holding the sword at his side. “...Do you hate me?”

His eyes went wide. “No, no, of course not! It’s the exact opposite.”

“So you hate yourself.”

His copper eyes lowered to the floor. The swords twisted in his hands until his own reflection looked back at him through the dragon’s red body. It made his scar look even more painful. He looked up and glanced at Sokka’s identical flower mark. “Yeah.”

“Zuko…”

“I know, okay?! I shouldn’t. But I do. I hurt you guys so many times, and I didn’t even pay attention...I didn’t know...I’m so horrible, Sokka, how could you ever want a soulmate like me?!” He felt something wet leak from his eyes, and it took him a minute to realize he was crying.

“Because the universe knows you’re better now. It knows we belong together.” Sokka took a step forward. Zuko took a step back. 

“Why?” His voice was so quiet and trembling that it scared him. His father always said he couldn’t show fear, or pain. 

Sokka scoffed. “Because you’re adorable, and funny, and smart, and really awkward. And I know you’re good now.”

“But I’m not.”

Tears made Sokka’s eyes even more blue. Zuko found himself entranced in them, like a sailor lost at sea. Maybe he had always been lost, just in his own mind. He didn’t even know who he was anymore. He never had.

He didn’t have a chance to say anything else before Sokka was so close that his breath made Zuko’s eyelashes flutter. “I know it’s hard. But you have to trust me, okay?”

And then tears mixed with tears, two sobbing boys in love.

But it was quickly interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. if i should fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> zuko and sokka are still healing, but they can’t focus on that when three women are terrorizing the village.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> major thanks to my beta, @she-ras-sister on tumblr! hope you guys enjoy, and some heavy angst coming up ;)

**Sokka**

Back in the South Pole, Katara had told Sokka how she asked more people about the flower types. She discerned that Sokka’s newest mark, on his chest, was made up of periwinkles and alstroemerias. The beginning of friendship and devotion. She told him how he sacrificed himself for her, and for their new friendship. If she hadn’t been able to save him…

No. She had saved him. Just like she saved Aang. Katara wouldn’t let any of their friends die.

Those thoughts bounced around in Sokka’s head as they raced out of the training room, still red-eyed and reeling from the events that had just happened. But if someone was in trouble, forget the affectionate moment. They would have time to talk later. Sokka still hadn’t asked what kind of flowers Zuko had on his thumbs from the fish hooks.

By the time they found the source of the scream, a crowd had already been formed. Sokka pushed his way through easily. The sword was pretty useful when it came to parting crowds. But when he reached the front, the Fire Lord trailing behind him, he almost wished he had stayed in the back.

A woman with sleek brown hair held a knife to a terrified merchant’s throat, a sinister smile on her pale face. One woman stood behind her, keeping the crowd back with a sword, and a third held the merchant in place. 

“P-please don’t hurt me! I swear I don’t know where he is!”

_Huh, that’s strange. I wonder who they’re looking for._ Sokka thought idly. He made no move to stop the scene in front of him. He had to play it smart, not rush into things without knowing the full context.

Yeah, Zuko didn’t get the memo. As the woman scowled and pressed the knife further in the merchant’s throat, he pushed Sokka aside and ran to the center of the crowd. “Let him go!”

_Agni, Zuko, you’re such an idiot._ But Sokka still jumped into the center of the crowd, so he could protect his idiot. 

The woman who wasn’t holding the merchant grinned and stepped towards him, while brown-haired one waved a hand and her friends stood down. She dropped her knife and turned toward Zuko.

“Nice of you to finally show up. We were wondering where you’ve been, _Fire Lord._ ”

Oh, that was not good. Was Zuko the person they’d been looking for? Sokka could see how people would be upset by his new status, but holding random citizens hostage was just a whole other level of evil. But if they had been looking for the leader of a country, that only meant trouble. Whatever they had been planning, Sokka wouldn’t let them go through with it.

He lifted his sword in a block just as the first woman pulled a dagger from her pocket and tried hitting the water tribe boy. He didn’t exactly know how he’d done it, only that if he’d been a second later, he’d likely be bleeding out. He gulped and glanced at his soulmate’s wide eyes. They shared a look that seemed to say ‘Okay, so we’re doing this.’ And then they launched into battle.

The brown-haired one went after Sokka, the other two immediately launching into a series of kicks directed at Zuko. Sokka hoped the Fire Lord could defend himself. He saw swords flashing from the corner of his eye before a fist slammed into his face.

Sokka stumbled back as stars filled his vision and blood filled his mouth. “ _Ow._ ” He grabbed at his face weakly. Okay, so this woman was obviously aggressive. Perfect. That would make her assassination attempt ten times more successful. 

“That all you got?” The woman sneered and shoved him back. “I don’t need to waste my strength on you.”

Sokka panicked and shoved his sword toward her chest. Why was it that he always forgot his training when he needed it the most? She grabbed his wrist and twisted. Pain flared up Sokka’s arm and he grunted as his sword fell to the ground. He knew he had to keep her distracted. If not, she would go after Zuko, who already had his own problems. He had to make himself a major target.

Somehow, his foot managed to slam into her chest and push her back. Good. He used the moment to grab his sword and block as she went in for a punch to the chest. The woman growled when her fist only hit steel. “How about this? I don’t need you, so I’ll leave you alone if you give us the Fire Lord.”

The water tribe boy swept his leg under her feet, and she fell down to her back. She’d given him an opportunity. Maybe she wasn’t as trained as he’d originally thought. “Never.”

She smiled. “Then get ready to have some fun.”

He was more then ready. Until he heard a pained hiss and turned to see his soulmate clutching his stomach. “Zuko!” He shouted, trying to run. His foot caught on something and he fell to the ground. Hard.

The Fire Lord turned toward him, then immediately turned and firebended one of the women to her knees. Sokka attempted to stand but then felt an unimaginable pain stab through his ankle. The newly healed one, at that. He screamed as his vision flashed white. He barely turned enough to see the sword sticking out of his leg.

Tui and La, that felt like someone had firebent his whole ankle off! He didn’t register the pulsing fire or the people being thrown backwards. He didn’t notice that all three of the women were being hauled up by guards moments later. Because all he could see was red. Red like blood.

He vaguely wondered if that would leave a mark on Zuko.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I firebent them away and the guards got them. It’s bleeding a lot, but you’re gonna be okay.” Zuko rambled as he searched Sokka for any more injuries. “Katara can fix you.”

“I know…” He managed, but he hated it. His leg had just been healed by his sister, and it was almost like the deep cut had reignited his old injuries. He clutched at his leg and lifted his hand to his face. It was soaked in blood. Maybe the sword had gone deeper than Zuko thought.

He wouldn’t have a chance to find out. His vision faded fast, until all he could focus on was Zuko’s arms around him.


	4. the stranger it feels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> zuko doesn't deal well with injuries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooo, sorry its been a while! i kinda overwhelmed my betas lol. here's chapter 4, hope you enjoy! (suki's chapter of hurt and scars should be out within the next few days)
> 
> TW: injuries, mentioned abuse, mentions of self-harm and self-hatred

**Zuko**

He had hoped that maybe Sokka’s wound wasn’t that bad. But when the blood stained his already red robes, and made the boy pass out, he knew the cut had gone deep. Plus, that was the leg that had been broken just months before. That couldn’t be good. 

Zuko was running to Appa with his soulmate in his arms. Sokka was heavier than he looked. Somehow, they managed to both get on top of the flying bison. What had Aang always said to get the creature flying? “Uh...Appa...fly?” The animal snorted, almost like it was laughing at him. “Just fly! He’s hurt!” Appa still didn’t move. He had to remember, but it was like all his important memories always left him when he needed them most. All that he remembered was tears and pain. Then it hit him. “Yip yip!”

They flew towards the palace as fast as possible. Zuko kept cursing and checking Sokka’s pulse as thoughts raced through his head. Sokka had gotten hurt for Zuko, of all people. The criminals were set on assassinating the Firelord. Sokka didn’t have to fight that battle, but he did. 

Zuko couldn’t get over what he’d overheard his soulmate say. Sokka had the chance to get away if he gave up the Firelord, but he didn’t. He gotten hurt for Zuko. If the Firelord had any doubts about Sokka liking him before, they’d all burned away.

He was greeted by Aang and Katara when the bison finally landed at the palace. The waterbender’s smug expression—likely because she suspected some romance—quickly shifted when she noticed her brother unconscious on the saddle. “What happened?!”

“Criminals. Lost a lot of blood.” Zuko climbed to the ground. Aang came up to him.

“Are you hurt?”

He shook his head quicker than he needed to. The women had knocked him back a few times, but the worst he had were a few bruises. He was more concerned about the forming tattoos on his ankle. He’d have to ask Katara what type of flowers they were later.

Aang used his airbending to get Sokka down and into his sister’s arms. She struggled a bit, but managed to break into a run towards the doors. Zuko didn’t follow the two. His head was pounding, back aching, unwelcome memories flooding his mind. He was reminded too much of when his uncle had been struck by Azula’s lightning, of when Aang suffered the same thing, all the times he’d watched his mom limp back to her bedroom. Why did everything have to be so painful?

“Zuko?” Who was that? He held his hands at the ready, before he realized it was just Toph. “What happened to Sokka?”

“He got hurt. He’s gonna be okay though, right?” The panic was hard to keep from his voice.

“Woah, relax, your heartbeat’s through the roof.”

Right. Because Toph had to be the one who could sense heartbeats. He tried to calm himself down but didn’t have any ideas. “Um...do you think you could do something for me?” The girl asked, quieter than he’d ever heard her.

Zuko wanted to snap at her, tell her he was a little preoccupied. He felt an itch crawling up his arms and into his brain as he obsessively made sure his flower tattoos weren’t fading. The small vines where Sokka had stuck himself with fish hooks were still there, thank the spirits. The sword cut hadn’t gone very deep, but who knows what could’ve happened before Zuko had managed to catch up to his soulmate?

But as much as he wanted to ignore Toph, her voice was just so soothing. So concerned. Whatever it was she was going to say, maybe it was to help him calm down.

“Yeah. Yeah, I can do anything you need.”

“Could you...maybe tell me what my flowers look like?” 

Oh. He’d forgotten that the tattoos didn’t make an indent or a bump on their skin. Of course Toph wouldn’t be able to feel them. The poor girl probably didn’t even know if she had soulmates if no one had bothered to tell her before. And maybe she was just being nice to calm him down, but he found that he wasn’t mad at her like everyone else was. Because even when everyone saw him as a pity project, a stupid angsty teenager, Toph always tried to treat him normally or at least help him when he needed it. She was like the sister he never had. 

“Sure.” 

She smiled. “I’m not sure where they are, so maybe start with my feet.” 

He did as she asked and found his heartbeat slowing down as he did it. It turned out, Toph’s soulmarks covered mainly her abdomen and shoulders. He wondered vaguely if she’d met her soulmate yet, and how they’d gotten the marks they had. 

“Uh...I’m not sure what kind of flowers they are, but there’s a ton on your stomach and neck area. Maybe they’ve gotten into fights or something?” He tried his best to describe the flowers to her without using sight, and they worked through ideas on what the girl’s soulmate had gotten themself into. 

“Thanks, sparky. I owe ya one.” She punched her in the arm, but Zuko found himself smiling even as he winced. 

That’s when Katara rushed out of the palace, breathless. “Zuko!” She panted, waving her arms. “He’s awake!”

…

_”Mother!” Zuko giggled, running to his mom with his arms open wide for a hug. Where had she been all day? He’d been forced to take servants with him out to the pond and to look at the flowers. She hadn’t even been there to yell at Azula when she tackled him into the grass!_

_But something was wrong. His mom was limping and leaning on the walls as if she needed them to hold her up. She looked...scared. And sad at the same time. What exactly had she been doing?_

_Zuko skittered to a stop halfway between his bedroom door and his mom. She held out a hand to stop him from hugging her. She_ never _refused hugs from him. The prince’s smile faded fast. “Mother? What’s wrong?”_

_He walked the rest of the way towards her as servants watched from his doorway. Up close, he noticed her hair wasn’t in its usual bun, and tears were in her eyes. “I’m okay, baby. Can I sleep with you tonight?”_

_She didn’t say that in her usual joking manner as she tickled him to death. But Zuko didn’t acknowledge that. “Yeah! You can protect me from the evil warriors!”_

_His mom gave a weak smile. “Maybe the warriors aren’t the evil ones.”_

…

“Zuko? How long was I out, you look like you’ve aged years.” Sokka cracked a smile as he pushed himself up in bed. 

“How are you?” Zuko skipped over the jokes and sat on the edge of the bed. Katara had taken her brother to one of the guest rooms closest to the infirmary, and somehow managed to evade suspicion. 

“I’m fine. Just the shock of it. Katara said my leg wasn’t fully healed yet, and then the psycho lady didn’t exactly help.” 

Zuko felt a weight lift off his shoulders, and he breathed out heavily. He had known Sokka would survive, it was just...all the blood… But it didn’t matter. Sokka really did care about them. Both of them were fine, and that meant everything would be okay.


	5. so much he could tell you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the two chaotic gay children get a chance to heal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, you know the drill: ELIZA. LOVE YOU. This fic wouldn’t be possible without your help and I’m so grateful for that. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone for reading! You guys make my day with comments and kudos, and I’m glad my writing is able to make yours. I love you all, hope you’ll stick around to read my other works
> 
> TW: nightmares, injuries, mentions of self-harm

Night fell, and the agony burning in Sokka’s leg was starting to dissipate. He hadn’t been able to sleep since he’d woken up the first time, but that was okay. Because at some point after the sun fell, Zuko had migrated from his chair in the corner of the room to curl up with Sokka in the bed. Neither of them had brought up the events of the day. Not yet at least. Sokka fully intended to stay with Zuko as long as he needed to. 

The thing was, things between the two of them were getting more and more serious. They spent a lot of time together before Sokka left. But never sharing a bed. Maybe it was because Zuko was worried about him, or maybe it was just his way of saying he was sorry. Whatever the case, Sokka was glad. When he was in the South Pole, his wrist had itched too often to be normal. He excused himself frequently to roll up his sleeve and whisper “Zuko, what are you doing?” It felt good to finally know that his soulmate was safe and warm. 

When Katara had first seen the flowers dotting his wrist, she had dragged her brother out of the igloo. She’d thought they were his marks before she got a better look. A full lecture was started before Sokka caught on and managed to explain the context of the situation. Once they realized the severity what he was saying, the two of them rushed back to the Fire Nation as fast as possible. Sokka didn’t know how much longer the Firelord would go on before the marks faded forever. And he wouldn’t let the same thing that happened to Yue happen to his soulmate. Not in a million lifetimes. 

His mind kept racing as he tossed and turned in bed. Toph had investigated and told him that those women were highly-trained assassins who’d been sent to kill Zuko. Of course, they already knew that, but it was by whom they were sent that scared him. A former fire sage. That information alone told them Ozai supporters were still out there, and they despised Zuko more than anything. They would do whatever it took to kill him.

He couldn’t sleep, so he buried his hand in Zuko’s soft, dark hair. Standard red fire nation sheets kept them from the cool breeze of the open window. The stars shone through said window and, despite his new love, Sokka couldn’t help searching for the moon in the sky. Yue was always watching him, and he knew she was smiling. She would want him to be happy and move on. She had always been selfless like that. 

Zuko made a small noise and shuddered, which prompted Sokka to pull him closer and put an arm over him. He knew about nightmares, if that’s what was even going on. He knew what it was like to lose someone and feel a horrible empty hole in your chest. He knew what it was like to stare into lifeless eyes and cry silently and fix your own wounds. And he didn’t want that for anyone else. 

The Firelord shifted again and started breathing quicker and shorter. “Zuko? Hey, it’s me. You’re okay.” Sokka whispered. He was beginning to get scared. “What’s going on?”

He sat up quickly and cursed quietly when his leg flared in pain. “Sokka!” Zuko yelled, reaching for empty space. 

“I'm here. I’m right here.” Sokka grabbed his soulmate’s hand and shook his shoulders. He could only imagine what horrors he was probably seeing. “Zuko!”

Zuko shot up in bed, eyes wide as he grabbed for something that wasn’t there. “Sokka?” His voice was so small and pathetic that it hurt Sokka’s heart. One moment it was so peaceful, and the next his heart was leaping up to his throat. 

“Hey, it’s okay. What happened?”

He just shook his head and pushed his back against the headboard. “Can you stay up with me?”

“Of course.”

Sokka moved to sit next to his soulmate and grabbed his hand. For a few minutes, they just tried to sync their breathing. The window had been opened at some point before they’d laid down, and a warm breeze blew through the room. The soft quack of turtle ducks and trickling fountain water echoed in the silence. 

“So...do you want to talk about…?” Sokka gestured to his wrist and tried to meet Zuko’s eyes. 

The boy just looked up at him, then looked back down at the sheets. “I’m sorry.”

The water tribe boy gaped. “What? Why? I’m not mad.”

“But I’m just a poor, sad, pathetic boy. I shouldn’t be Firelord. You deserve a better soulmate.”

“ _Zuko._ I wouldn’t want anyone else with me right now. I...I love you.”

He surprised himself with that statement. He really did love this guy, someone who had hated him just months before. Of course he loved Zuko. He’d saved him from getting killed that day, and multiple other times. He’d saved all of them from getting killed. And he was beautiful and sweet and amazing. Who cares if he thought he was pathetic or stupid? He wasn’t. And Sokka wouldn’t let him forget it.

“I love you, too.”

Sokka smiled. He tried to lean in for a kiss, but Zuko moved away and sighed. “I was afraid you weren’t coming back. I was afraid you really did hate me, and the only friends I’ve ever made would just leave me behind.”

Sokka nodded. He knew how that felt. He’d thought his own sister hated him since she spent way more time with Aang. And when Suki had disappeared, his immediate thoughts were she just didn’t want to see him again. He’d been to over protective, too stupid, and he’d ruined his chances with her. 

“I would never leave you.”

Zuko looked over at him and smiled. “I wouldn’t either.”

Katara found them in the morning cuddled on top of each other and sleeping soundly.

**Author's Note:**

> chapter 2 being betad rn! i also have a new work in progress, lots of angst and whump. if you enjoyed, leave kudos or a comment! i love hearing from you guys


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